Starting Sunday thru last night The History Channel aired a three-part six hour drama entitled “Sons of Liberty”.

The Sons of Liberty was a real organization based in Boston that was intimately involved in the events that led up to the American Revolution. But if you only gain your knowledge of history from the drivel produced and aired on the History Channel then you will have a very skewed view of the reality of history.

A lot of very important men vital to the events leading up to the civil unrest in Boston leading up to the War for Independence were seen in the docudrama. John Adams is a mealy mouthed patriot that had to be convinced to join the cause at the last moment. Paul Revere is the brash, alpha male who appears to think little and act often. John Hancock is a fop only in it for the money until the last possible moment. Abigail Adams is seen once and is nothing more than a housewife. Sam Adams is a beer swilling, grief stricken widower that acts without thinking and without goals.

There are so many inaccuracies, liberties, poetic licenses, and lies littering the script and production. Had the piece aired on a major network or any other cable channel I probably wouldn’t be so offended by the whole thing. But for God’s sake, the History Channel should get HISTORY right when it airs something. It shouldn’t make up facts to suit ratings or turn Founding Fathers into more relatable characters.

In 2008, HBO produced the John Adams mini-series which lasted for two seasons. It is incredibly excellent and much more historically accurate. It doesn’t dumb down history, or change Founding Fathers to make them more appealing to modern day audiences. Luckily, the John Adams series is available on Amazon. I highly recommend investing the time if you have an interest in American history.

I will give the History Channel this much, they’ve spurred me into finding good books to flush out my own knowledge on the American Revolution. I will report back on the good ones I promise.

In what I can only describe as an insane determination to never offend anyone we are losing our ability to create, play, or discuss anything. Women, and this includes me on occasion, become upset when developers fail to provide an option to play as a female or only to play as some ridiculous stereotype of an overly sexualized female. Sexual preferences that aren’t detailed, even when irrelevant to the content matter, are somehow exclusionary and prejudice. Skin color is right there next to sexual preference when it isn’t an option.

Braxwolf just posted a well reasoned and written post on how the setting of Arkham Asylum makes him uncomfortable. He mentions how even the word asylum makes him uncomfortable. My take is entirely different. Batman, main character in the Arkham series, first appeared in 1939 and the world was embroiled in World War II. Batman as written in 1939 most likely wouldn’t be published today. The same with great works like Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, plays by Tennessee Williams, or The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. All of these modern classics would be rejected by publishers for being racist or non-inclusive; or in the case of Tolkien far too long and esoteric.

Imagine the world without Batman, Frodo, Scarlett, or Blanche DuBois. Imagine a world with no Middle Earth and Elvish, or no Gotham City for Bruce Wayne to grow up in and roam at night in his trusty batsuit. Times, situations, language, morals, etc change and evolve to fit the current world. Our changes in mores and values does not give us the right to impose our values on those that have gone before.

Hindsight is 20-20 and viewed through the lens of history doesn’t give us moral superiority. Someday our ancestors will be judging us through that very same lens of history. Will we provide a clean slate free of moral blemish? Instead, let us read, play, and learn from the past.

Batman has cast of criminally insane bad guys that we all love to hate. Don’t force Batman into our politically correct insane world where we quake in fear to call an act of terror and what it is. Don’t try to make Scarlett On Hara anyone other than the strong, resilent, and yes, slave owner she was in the book. The world and all of its inhabitants are flawed, altering the past to suit the present doesn’t change that fact.

Interpreting history with our morals devalues the past. Do you want to be judged 50 years or 200 years for now through their moral lens? Enjoy Arkham Asylum and Batman without the guilt my friend.

The case for Articles of Impeachment has nothing to do with politics. The case for Articles of Impeachment is about upholding the rule of law in this country, regardless of the political implications for any political party in this country.

On Bill O’Reilly’s program on Thursday July 10th, Bernard Goldberg offered his opinion on why Sarah Palin’s call of Articles of Impeachment was a terrible idea. What his opinion boiled down to was that it would “destroy the Republican Party”. So basically, the argument against the rule of law is to keep lifelong politicians in office at the expense of the American public. Bill O’Reilly agrees, by the way, that impeachment is political suicide for republicans.

The argument that the lawsuit filed by Speaker of the House John Boehner is and adequate solution to the lawlessness is a flawed and legally baseless argument. The federal courts have repeatedly ruled that they are not the appropriate vehicle to resolve political disputes and that is exactly what the lawsuit is, a political disagreement and stunt. The President isn’t even remotely phased by the lawsuit and even if we assume the best case scenario occurred and the courts rules in favor of John Boehner, the Department of Justice is run by one of the President’s closest friends and advisors. Does anyone honestly expect Eric Holder to honor his oath of office and enforce a legal ruling against the President of the United States?

The alleged destruction of the Republican Party or any existing political party is not a bad thing. I don’t care what party is in office, they are failing to do their job as elected officials. Democrats and Republicans each are equally responsible for the unmitigated mess this country finds itself in today. Politics are more important than getting anything actually done in Congress. Preserving the status quo will only ensure that the failure we find ourselves right now. Porous borders, federal agencies breaking the law, federal agencies garnishing wages without judicial overview or recourse, a Department of Justice that is incapable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute criminal activities, and the list is endless.

We are a country of laws. The highest law of the land is the Constitution and without elected officials willing to enforce the law of the Constitution, it is no wonder that this Administration lies, steals, and cheats at will. The overwhelming majority of Americans no longer trust the federal government. It is time to return to the rule of law and admit that there is more than enough basis for Articles of Impeachment. It is time for the American people to take back their government and demand that their representatives do their job and follow the Constitution.

Last week I read a term I hadn’t heard before, disaster porn. It is a brilliant description of the root cause of so many of our problems as a nation. There are so many problems and the solutions seem so far out of reach, that it is quite simply easier to focus on the ills of others near and far than it is on the immediate problems surrounding us.

We’ve all heard the saying, “if it bleeds, it leads” when describing the nightly news. We have grown so accustomed to bad news that we have failed to realize how that has polluted the rest of our interactions.

Not only are news channels filled with horrors from around the globe, but we now have cable shows focused on impending disaster. “Survivor” is just one example and it is a pretty mild example of the problem. “Naked and Afraid” on Discovery is a much better example of the problem. Two strangers are voluntarily thrown into a survival situation and over the next hour viewers are “treated” to watching these people struggle to survive. One the participants contracted Dengue Fever on an episode, her life is forever altered for a television program.

No, it isn’t all just innocent fun with willing people taking part, it is a symptom of a much larger problem. It is easier to watch the problems of others than it is to admit that our standards have slipped to such an extent that such shows exist. News programs lead with the worst story possible because it drivers viewers to their channel over others. Crime, neighborhoods, school standards, etc. can all be traced back to a desensitized public.

It becomes easier and easier to lack empathy for your neighbors when we are glued to television and electronic screens that discourage personal interaction. We flock to sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to make connections. The problem with those “connections” is that they are with people we have no personal or emotional connection to. Sure, we reach out to the people on the other end of our electronic devices but in an emergency it is much more likely that the guy living next to you is in a position to help than someone on your friends list on Twitter.

I’m as guilty as the next person of having Twitter and Facebook friends and watching the news. We talk to the neighbors, but I wouldn’t exactly say we are friends. I know the world has changed and I’m fighting an uphill battle but it is a battle worth fighting. Recently, we have stopped watching casual television that falls into the disaster porn genre and have stopped being glued to electronic devices while we watch television in the same room, together but apart essentially.

It is time to decide what kind of future we want and deserve as Americans. Do we want to be isolated and alone, watching the misery and tragedy of others? Or, do we stop letting corporations which produce these programs rule our lives and start making human, face-to-face connections once again? Who is more important to you, the people on your block or the latest ravings from the Hollywood and media elite that pollute our national culture? Are you a force for good or are you a pebble in the stream awash in the flotsam and jetsam of mass media?

I’m far from perfect. I have more flaws than I care to count but I know that the America we live in today is not an America our grandparents and great-grandparents would recognize and be proud of. The first step in taking back our country from the forces of evil, is to decide to speak up for the values that are important to you regardless of the political correctness thereof. Disaster porn exists because we the people allow it, it is time to end a culture dominated by disaster porn and it’s ilk.

Now, I’m shutting down the electronics for the evening and am going to go snuggle up to my husband for the remainder of the night.

Like this:

Cross posting this on two blogs, so if you read both I apologize in advance but this story deserves the cross posting. Several weeks ago this news story appeared on the front page of Yahoo but I saw no other coverage in the major news outlets or news programs.

First off, let me say how incredibly brave and lucky Deborah Feldman is and what courage it takes to come forward to tell her story. Now, here is my real opinion on her story and the broader picture …

I am DISGUSTED that such behavior exists and is allowed to continue to exist within America. Religious freedom is a guaranteed Constitutional privilege but when your religious freedom infringes on the Constitutional separation of church and state then there is a serious problem. The America I grew up in would have not tolerated this nonsense. I admit that it is possible that I may be wearing rose colored glasses about the past, but fringe religious groups seem to be on the rise.

The fact the mainstream media hasn’t picked up the story and there hasn’t been more than one investigative story about the Hasidic Jewish community scares me. Are we seriously going to allow this nonsense in our country to flourish and thrive? There is no excuse in the name of religious freedom, to allow such extremism to go unexposed in today’s society. The mere fact that she is so careful about personal details with family members five years after leaving the community and writing a book is the only way she felt she would continue to be safe is terrifying. There is no excuse, no religious justification, for such nonsense.

Abuse and abusers thrive because their victims are too scared to speak out, doesn’t matter who the abuser is spouse, parent, cult leader, they thrive through intimidation and fear. I have a theory about how why these communities seem to be more prevalent but it will make me sound like I want a return to mid-century America. As we become more connected electronically, we have become less connected socially. The more time we spend behind keyboards, smart phones, etc. the less time we have to spend around the dinner table, donuts after religious services, etc. We rush from one scheduled activity to another, and then divide our attention between the activity and whatever is demanding our attention from the smart phone permanently attached at our hips.

Honestly, can anyone say they are happy living that way? Our kids aren’t kids anymore. We schedule them in one social activity after another, we work insane hours to keep up with the “Joneses” and tumble home with fast food and television time while surfing the web on the laptop or smartphone. I know there are competing stories concerning popular sites like Facebook, story one, two, and three, but five years from now I fully expect that sites like that will be far less popular than they are today.

Anyone who truly knows me knows I’m a homebody. I’m not much of a social butterfly, I love my family and have had few close friends my entire life. But while I may not be a user of sites like Facebook or Twitter, I am not a technophobe either. The pendulum has just swing too far away from human contact in my opinion. The human being is a social animal and we are raising a society of people that doesn’t know how to interact face to face because they’ve grown up rushing from activities and interacting with other behind an electronic screen. We leave no handwritten record for future generations, I struggled with a long time in writing a blog versus a diary. Pictures are now digital, it is rare that we even go so far as to print off this memories we store on memory cards in cameras and phones. What tangible items are we leaving for our family to remember us by and learn from when digital is by it’s very nature a fleeting and transient technology?

Like this:

Cross posting this on two blogs, so if you read both I apologize in advance but this story deserves the cross posting. Several weeks ago this news story appeared on the front page of Yahoo but I saw no other coverage in the major news outlets or news programs.

First off, let me say how incredibly brave and lucky Deborah Feldman is and what courage it takes to come forward to tell her story. Now, here is my real opinion on her story and the broader picture …

I am DISGUSTED that such behavior exists and is allowed to continue to exist within America. Religious freedom is a guaranteed Constitutional privilege but when your religious freedom infringes on the Constitutional separation of church and state then there is a serious problem. The America I grew up in would have not tolerated this nonsense. I admit that it is possible that I may be wearing rose colored glasses about the past, but fringe religious groups seem to be on the rise.

The fact the mainstream media hasn’t picked up the story and there hasn’t been more than one investigative story about the Hasidic Jewish community scares me. Are we seriously going to allow this nonsense in our country to flourish and thrive? There is no excuse in the name of religious freedom, to allow such extremism to go unexposed in today’s society. The mere fact that she is so careful about personal details with family members five years after leaving the community and writing a book is the only way she felt she would continue to be safe is terrifying. There is no excuse, no religious justification, for such nonsense.

Abuse and abusers thrive because their victims are too scared to speak out, doesn’t matter who the abuser is spouse, parent, cult leader, they thrive through intimidation and fear. I have a theory about how why these communities seem to be more prevalent but it will make me sound like I want a return to mid-century America. As we become more connected electronically, we have become less connected socially. The more time we spend behind keyboards, smart phones, etc. the less time we have to spend around the dinner table, donuts after religious services, etc. We rush from one scheduled activity to another, and then divide our attention between the activity and whatever is demanding our attention from the smart phone permanently attached at our hips.

Honestly, can anyone say they are happy living that way? Our kids aren’t kids anymore. We schedule them in one social activity after another, we work insane hours to keep up with the “Joneses” and tumble home with fast food and television time while surfing the web on the laptop or smartphone. I know there are competing stories concerning popular sites like Facebook, story one, two, and three, but five years from now I fully expect that sites like that will be far less popular than they are today.

Anyone who truly knows me knows I’m a homebody. I’m not much of a social butterfly, I love my family and have had few close friends my entire life. But while I may not be a user of sites like Facebook or Twitter, I am not a technophobe either. The pendulum has just swing too far away from human contact in my opinion. The human being is a social animal and we are raising a society of people that doesn’t know how to interact face to face because they’ve grown up rushing from activities and interacting with other behind an electronic screen. We leave no handwritten record for future generations, I struggled with a long time in writing a blog versus a diary. Pictures are now digital, it is rare that we even go so far as to print off this memories we store on memory cards in cameras and phones. What tangible items are we leaving for our family to remember us by and learn from when digital is by it’s very nature a fleeting and transient technology?

by Michelle Rene Goodhew. I am focused on the business of writing, being an artist, and general self improvement. I am seeking commissions as an artist doing portraits, illustration or graphic design. You can contact me by email: goodhewmichelle@gmail.com

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